This episode explores how to make mindful choices that lead to happiness and well-being in the future. We can learn how to distinguish between virtuous actions and nonvirtuous actions Virtuous actions are those that lead to positive outcomes, both for oneself and others. They are rooted in wholesome mental states such as generosity, compassion, and wisdom. With mindfulness, we can detect whether our mind is in a virtuous mental state. Virtuous states of mind feel, like loving-kindness, feel pleasant and peaceful. 

 Conversely, non-virtuous actions are those that lead to negative outcomes, causing harm to oneself and others. They arise from unwholesome mental states such as greed, anger, and ignorance. Sometimes these "unwholesome mental states" are called "delusions" because they distort reality. Anger, for example, is a mental state that always sees its object as unpleasant, though no person or experience is innately unpleasant. When our mental state is non-virtuous, it feels uncomfortable and tight. Checking to see how we are feeling before we act will let us know if we're acting with a non-virtuous state of mind. When we act out of non-virtue, the result is harmful to us because it leads to suffering in our future (bad karma). 

A simple mindfulness practice of checking whether our choices will bring happiness or suffering in the future follows:

Before you act, ask yourself:

How does this make me feel?

Will it bring happiness to myself and others?

Is it the right time?

 Buddha gave a similar directive when talking about speech: 

“Monks, a statement endowed with five factors is well-spoken, not ill-spoken. It is blameless & unfaulted by knowledgeable people. Which five?

“It is spoken at the right time. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken affectionately. It is spoken beneficially. It is spoken with a mind of good-will.”

-- Buddha, The Vaca Sutra, AN 5.198

By consciously engaging in wholesome actions, nurturing positive mental states, and adhering to ethical principles, we can transform our lives and the effects we have on those around us. Let us commit to this journey of virtue, knowing that each step brings us closer to true happiness and enlightenment.

Him I call a brahmana, who is wise and is profound in his knowledge, 

who knows the right way from the wrong way, 

and who has attained the highest goal (i.e., arahatship). 

--Buddha, the Dhammapada Verse 403

References with Links

Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=403

Buddha. Vaca Sutta, The Book of Fives, AN 5.198. suttacentral.net. Retrieved from: https://suttacentral.net/an5.198/en/thanissaro?lang=en&reference

Je Tsongkhapa (2014). Karma. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1 (Kindle). Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

Find us at the links below: 

To learn about the Buddhist Study Group or Courses, visit our Website: BuddhismforEveryone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

Facebook Group: Join our private group at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

In this episode we explore one of the core teachings of the Buddha—the Five Aggregates and their connection to our problems and suffering.

The Buddha taught that life is pervaded by dukkha, which means dissatisfaction or suffering. More specifically, in the First Noble Truth, Buddha taught that “The five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.” These aggregates—form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are the parts that make our self. When our five aggregates, including our consciousness, are conditioned by ignorance, we experience an unenlightened life subject to dissatisfaction. 

In essence, our unenlightened life is suffering. 

Enlightened life is Nirvana, which is free of dissatisfaction and suffering. 

How do we experience an enlightened life? Buddha said that when we purify our aggregates of delusions, such as attachment and ignorance, we experience an enlightened life. 

In this episode, we begin a journey to purify our intentions and actions of delusions. JoAnn Fox teaches a simple way to check whether your intention is motivated by delusion. She also guides a meditation on this technique and offers a mindfulness practice for daily life.

The five aggregates are:

1. form

2. feeling

3. discrimination 

4. mental formations (or influences of a previous life, mental states or delusions) 

5. consciousness

Mindfulness Practice

1. Observe your intentions before acting by asking yourself “What are the consequences of this choice?” Will it bring happiness?

2. What is my intention?

Observe how you feel. Delusions make our minds uncomfortable. If we’re feeling uncomfortable, a delusion like anger or attachment is present in our minds, making our intention unskillful. This is a simple way to see if the intention is good or bad. 

Him I call a brahmana, who even in this existence realizes the end of dukkha (i.e., Nibbana), who has laid down the burden (of the skandhas) and who is free from moral defilements.

--Buddha, The Dhammapada, Verse 402

Interested in live weekly classes with Joann Fox? 

Visit www.Buddhismforeveryone.comongoing-buddhist-study-program/ to enroll or learn more.

Find us at the links below: 

Website: BuddhismforEveryone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

Podcast Facebook Group: Join our private group at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

There is a way to purify negative karma! Phew. Buddha taught the Four Powers of Purification as a method to purify the negative karma we’ve created in the past. The powers of purification act together or alone. For example, as soon as we have even a moment of regret for some harm we’ve done, we start to purify that karma.  However, to fully purify negative karma form previous actions, the four powers can be used as a meditation. This practice illuminates Buddhism’s most essential tenet: that we can profoundly change--and even become a completely pure, enlightened being.

How to purify negative karma through the Four Powers:

1. Regret

2. Reliance

3. Remedy

4. Resolve

1. The Power of Regret

The first power is healthy regret. This type of regret stands in contrast to guilt. Guilt is anger towards oneself. It makes us feel bad about ourselves. Regret, however, understands we acted out of delusions like anger, jealousy, pride, or greed, but our nature remains pure and good. A mind of regret wants to be free of these delusions like getting poisons out of ourselves. Regret makes us naturally desire not to repeat that action and the harm we caused. 

1. The Power of Reliance

To understand the power of reliance, imagine that making a mistake is like falling down on the ground. Just as we depend on the ground to stand up again, when we cause harm, we can purify it only by depending on the two types of beings we harmed: the Buddha (who is a wise guide, like a doctor) and ordinary living beings.

First, we rely on the Buddha by following his teachings to become better. If you're not a Buddhist, you can still do something similar. You could renew your commitment to follow the advice of someone you admire, or dedicate yourself again to good things you want to do. You can practice reliance in the meditation on the four powers by asking a higher power for help, like praying to Jesus or asking Buddha for help to purify. Second, we rely on other living being by developing compassion and love for them.

3. The Power of Remedy

This refers to the power of applying remedies. In this step, we need to do something positive to counteract the negative energy we created, JoAnn Fox shares a traditional method for applying remedies by reciting the mantra of Vajrasattva, Buddha of Purification (see the mantra below.) 

If you feel comfortable visualizing an enlightened being, you can visualize a figure such as Buddha or Vajrasattva above your head. You can visualize Buddha as you’ve seen him depicted or simply as a being made of golden light. Vajrasattva can be imagined in a simple way as a being of white light. While reciting the mantra, imagine light flowing down from the holy being at your crown. The light flows down, through the crown of your head, and fills your entire body purifying all your negative karma and delusions.

If you do not feel comfortable visualizing such a being, you can imagine a sphere of light above your head, thinking that it represents all enlightened qualities like love and compassion. Visualize light flowing down from the sphere and filling you.

The short Mantra of Vajrasattva, Buddha of Purification

Om Vajra Sattva Hum

4. The Power of Resolve

The power of resolve (sometimes called the power of promise) involves a promise to try to refrain from a harmful action in the future. If you’re trying to purify a specific negative action, it can be especially meaningful to refrain from an action that is similar to that original harmful action. For example, if you’re trying to purify stealing, you can promise to refrain from stealing in the future. Alternatively, you can decide to act in more positive ways, such as being more generous or promising to donate to a charity.

“First, if all the causes and conditions for something to occur come together and there is nothing opposing its arising, the effect is certain to occur. For example, if a barley seed (the cause) is planted, the conditions of moisture, warmth, sunlight, and nutrients come together, and opposing conditions such as frozen ground, disease, and being trampled by animals,  don’t oppose it, a barley plant is certain to grow. Similarly, if you have the karmic seeds of anger and that anger is not opposed by your practice of patience, understanding of emptiness, or a vow or commitment not to get angry, when you meet with someone (the external condition) who says or does something you experience as harmful, your karmic urge will drive you to get angry.” --Je Tsongkhapa

O foolish one! 

What is the use of wearing matted hair? 

What is the use of your wearing a garment made of antelope skin? 

In you, there is a forest (of moral defilements); 

you clean yourself only externally.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada. Verse 394

References with Links

Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=394

Je Tsongkhapa (2014). Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1 (Kindle). Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pg 209-214. 

Find us at the links below: 

Website: BuddhismforEveryone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

Facebook Group: Join our private group at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

Taking refuge is the key expression of commitment to Buddhism. If you want to identify as a Buddhist in a more formal way, you can take refuge by saying the refuge prayer: “I go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.” When we take refuge, we are committing ourselves to peace and the path to that inner peace. The Buddha is the teacher, and the Sangha (spiritual community) assists you in your practice, but the real refuge is the jewel of the teaching, because experience of the teachings protects our mind and solves our problems. 

You are now at the end of life; 

You’re headed for Yama’s presence 

With no resting place along the way, 

No provisions for the journey. 

Make an island for yourself. 

Be quick in making effort. Be wise. 

Unblemished, with corruption removed, 

You will experience birth and old age no more. (Verse 238)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.62.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 1. Pages 206-208. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Co.

A Buddhist is sometimes referred to as an inner being. This is one who solves their problems and seeks happiness within. In this episode, we look at how to recognize whether we are seeking inner or outer refuge, the difference being whether it can truly solve our problem and give us peace—or not. 

Yama’s henchmen are standing by.

You stand at the door of death 

With no provisions for the journey.

Make an island for yourself.

Be quick in making effort. Be wise.

Unblemished, with corruption removed, 

You’ll enter the divine realm of the noble ones.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada  

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.62.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 1. Pages 206-208. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Co.

According to the Buddha, thoughts create karma, our present reality and our future. Yet our thoughts can be so deceptive. This episode will help us explore and question our thoughts, as well as direct them toward what is beneficial. Specifically, we will look at the three non-virtuous actions of mind: coveting, malice and wrong view.

• “Coveting: The bases of covetousness are the wealth or possessions of another. The motivation is the desire to make the wealth or property your own. The culmination is thinking “May it become mine,” about wealth and the like. Asaṅga describes this as “the determination that it will become yours.” 

For this to be full-fledged covetousness, five qualities are required: 

(1) having a mind that is exceedingly attached to your own resources; 

(2) having a mind of attachment that wants to accumulate resources;

(3) having a mind of longing due to comprehending or experiencing the good things of others—their wealth and so forth; 

(4) having an envious mind, thinking that whatever is another’s should be your own; 

(5) having a mind that is overcome, due to covetousness, by shamelessness and an obliviousness about the determination to be free from the faults of covetousness.

2. Malice: Thinking such thoughts as, “How nice it would be if they were killed, or bound, or their resources were ruined, either naturally or by another person.” 

Moreover, it is complete if the following five attitudes are present. The five are: 

(1) an attitude of hostility driven by a reifying apprehension of the characteristics of the causes of harm and the phenomena related to them; 

(2) an impatient attitude by way of not being patient with those doing the harm to you; 

(3) a resentful attitude based on repeated, improper attention to and mindfulness of the causes of your anger; 

(4) an envious attitude which thinks, “How nice if my enemy were beaten or killed”; 

(5) an attitude that is dominated by a lack of shame about your malice and obliviousness about the determination to be free of its faults.” 

-- Je Tsongkhapa, Great Treatise of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (see reference below)

3. Wrong Views:  Holding tightly to a denial of the existence of an object of wisdom that is very beneficial to us, such as the law of karma. It is not simply having doubts. It is a very closed mind.

Karmic results of the 3 non-virtuous actions of mind:

• covetousness — comes a predominance of attachment
• malice — comes a predominance of hostility 
• wrong views — comes a predominance of confusion 

Guard against anger erupting in your mind;

Be restrained with your mind.

Letting go of mental misconduct 

Practice good conduct with your mind.

The wise are restrained in body, 

Restrained in speech.

The wise are are restrained in mind.

They are fully restrained.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada  

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.61.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 1. Pages 224-227. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Co.

Right speech is abstaining from:

• false speech
• divisive speech
• harsh speech
• frivolous speech 

1. Lying (false speech): The performance is indicating something false through speaking, through choosing not to speak, or through gesture. Causing others to engage in the three types of speech—lying, divisive speech, or offensive speech—is the same as doing it yourself.
2. Divisive speech: the motivation is the desire that living beings who are compatible be separated or the desire that living beings who are incompatible remain so.
3. Harsh speech: is saying something unpleasant, which may be either true or false, about someone else. 
4. Frivolous speech (idle chatter) speaking about something that is not meaningful. 

Karmic results that are similar to the cause:

• from lying—much slander
• from divisive speech—loss of friendships
• from offensive speech—hearing unpleasant words
• from senseless speech—others not listening to your words

Guard against anger erupting in your speech;

Be restrained with your speech.

Letting go of verbal misconduct 

Practice good conduct with your speech.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada  

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,, Volume 1. Pages 222-236. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

Moral discipline is the foundation of the spiritual path in Buddhism. Virtue means something that creates happiness or inner peace (good karma). When we determine that an action is virtuous or non-virtuous, it doesn’t imply judgment or that a person is good or bad, but rather that the action will either bring happiness or suffering in the future. Virtue creates the experience of freedom from guilt, and this helps us continue to develop spiritually through joy and confidence toward inner peace, wisdom, and liberation.  

Non-virtuous actions of body include killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. These also form the first three of the Pratimoksha Vows, vows taken by lay followers of Buddha (those who are not monks or nuns). Monks and nuns have lots more vows to take! A virtuous life is not a set of rules or a burdensome duty. A virtuous life is a source of happiness, and the sacrifice of non-virtuous pleasures enables us to experience more satisfying ones. 

The Pratimoksha Vows 

1. Refrain from killing
2. Refrain from stealing
3. Refrain from sexual misconduct
4. Refrain from lying
5. Refrain from becoming intoxicated 

Whether an action is virtuous or non-virtuous depends on a combination of: 

• the mental state, including intention, that the action arises from 
• the effects on those to whom the action is directed
• the virtues or vices that it expresses and helps to cultivate 

“Since the self of others is dear to each one, let him who loves himself not harm another” —Buddha

Guard against anger erupting in your body;

Be restrained with your body.

Letting go of bodily misconduct 

Practice good conduct with your body.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada  

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,, Volume 1. Pages 218-220. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

In this episode, we consider our own Buddha-nature, the real nature of our mind: pure, peaceful, wise and compassion. We also learn how to do the practice of taking and giving (or Tonglen in Tibetan) to generate compassion for ourselves and to purify our future self. 

‘Monks, this mind is brightly shining, but it is defiled by adventitious defilements’

—Buddha

Who is worthy enough to find fault 

In one who is like a coin of the finest gold— 

Blameless in conduct, 

Intelligent, 

Endowed with insight and virtue,

Praised by the wise after being observed day after day? 

Such a one is praised even by the gods, 

Even by Brahmā. (229–230

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

In this episode we explore a method to help us avoid becoming angry when others criticize us or say hurtful things. We can learn to become an observer rather than becoming entangled with others’ actions. Further, we can become an observer of our own thoughts and feelings instead of being controlled by them. 

If someone says you talk too much it’s not about you, it’s about them. It’s a reflection of the weather inside their mind. If their mind is clear and peaceful like a blue sky, their words and actions reflect that. But if their mind is stormy with anxiety or anger, their words are like the lightning and thunder—they aren’t about you.

Ancient is this [saying], O Atula, 

It is not just of today: 

They find fault in one sitting silently, 

They find fault in one speaking much, 

They find fault in one speaking moderately. No one in this world is not found at fault. (227)* 

No person can be found 

Who has been, is, or will be 

Only criticized 

Or only praised. (228) 

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 165-166.

In this episode we look at a practice to help us generate compassion for those who harm us. This can free us from the painful experience of anger. The method given in this episode is called taking and giving. It is a highly effective practice for overcoming many types of anger, including resentment and guilt. 

1. Analyzing your commitment

“I committed myself to achieving the benefit and happiness of all living beings when I generated the spirit of enlightenment. I act for others’ welfare and care for all beings.”

1. Showing that compassion is appropriate 

Contemplate from the depths of your heart, “All living beings have been in cyclic existence since beginningless time, and there is not one who has not been my friend and relative—father, mother, etc. Being impermanent, they lose their lives and are miserable due to the three types of suffering. Crazed by the demon of the afflictions, they destroy their own welfare in this and future lives. [411] I must generate compassion for them. How could it be right to get angry or to retaliate for harm?”

—Je Tsongkhapa 

For the ever-wakeful— 

Training day and night, 

Intent on Nirvana— 

The toxins disappear.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 165-166.

The Buddhist canon contains many methods to calm the fires of anger and increase our patience. In this episode we look at a method for averting anger by understanding that harm is created by the power of our own karma. The suffering generated by harm is the effect of previous bad karma; by experiencing it, we exhaust this karma. We can even view them as kind because it is as though they are engaged in actions for the sake of clearing away our own bad karma.

“The experience of suffering produced by those who harm occurs from concordant causes; that is to say, from non-virtuous actions we have done in the past.” —Je Tsongkhapa 

Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds states:

“I, at a former time, inflicted Harm such as this on living beings.”

—Shantideva

“If, blinded by craving, I have obtained This abscess with a human form, So painful that it cannot bear to be touched, With whom should I be angry when it is hurt?” —Shantideva

If one speaks the truth, 

Is not angry, 

And gives when asked, even when one has little, 

Then one comes into the presence of the gods.

Sages who do no harm, 

Constantly restrained in body, 

Go to the immovable state 

Where they do not grieve. (225)* 

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.60.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 163-164..

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines patience as: the ability to remain calm when dealing with a difficult or annoying situation, task, or person. Everyone has different triggers that cause them to become upset, annoyed or furious, but, like any ability we possess, the capacity to remain calm can be cultivated with practice. This episode is part of a series on patience as we explore the chapter called “Anger” in the Dhammapada, a collection of the teachings Buddha gave as he walked from town to town 2,500 years ago. 

Conquer anger with non-anger;

Conquer wickedness with goodness;

Conquer stinginess with goodness 

And a liar with the truth. (Verse 223)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.59.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 160-163.

Within Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhists are sometimes referred to as "inner beings." What this means is that we turn inward. We learn to cultivate happiness and solve problems by changing our thoughts and actions. Like a sculptor with clay, our mind shapes our experiences. By observing thoughts, feelings, and habits, we gain insight into the workings of the mind. With this awareness, we can transform mental mental states to alleviate suffering. 

Understanding that the source of a problem is inside a person doesn't imply blame but highlights our potential for growth and transformation. Recognizing internal causes allows us to engage in practices like mindfulness and meditation to address the root of problems and make real change.

For example, the mind of anger distorts the way a person appears to us. Anger makes a person we normally love seem full of faults and unpleasant. Seeing our loved one through the lens of anger, causes us to see an enemy. By understanding the nature of anger and that its causes are thoughts, feelings, and the habit of anger, we can change these inputs. We could change our angry thoughts that focus on their faults to thoughts of appreciation for them. We can change our feeling to one of compassion for them. Ultimately, through practice, we can change our underlying habit of anger and live in a much more peaceful world. This process holds true for all our habits of mind. When we accept responsibility for our actions, feelings, and mental states, we take a huge step towards addressing the root causes of our problems.

Not by matted hair, not by clan, 

Not by birth does one become a brahmin.

The one in whom there is truth and Dharma 

Is the one who is pure, is a brahmin (Fronsdale, 2011)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada, Verse 393

References with Links

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 78 (Link) 

Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=393

Find us at the links below: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

Facebook Group:Join our private group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

Website: Buddhismforeveryone.com

The faults of anger:

1. We become unhappy and uncomfortable 
2. Makes us lose our reason and good sense
3. Destroys relationships
4. Karmic cause of future ugliness and makes us appear unattractive in the moment 
5. Destroys good karma 

The section on the divisions of patience has three parts:

1. Developing the patience of disregarding harm done to you
2. Developing the patience of accepting suffering 
3. Developing the patience of certitude about the teachings

Two ways to give up anger and disregard harm done to you

1. See that that anger is unjustified
2. Feel that compassion is appropriate

The one who keeps anger in check as it arises

As one would a careening chariot,

I call a charioteer.

Others are merely rein-holders. (Verse 222)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Patience means our mind stays peaceful when things are difficult or we experience something (or someone) unpleasant. In this episode, we begin to learn how to practice patience. We can grow this habit of mind until our mind is strong and immovable from peace, like a tall tree that cannot be uprooted by the even the strongest winds. 

The benefits of patience:

1. Persons who have patience will not have many enemies later on.
2. They will not have many separations from those they are close to.
3. They will have much happiness and contentment. 
4. They will have no regret at the time of death
5. They will be reborn in the happy realms of high status.
6. Patience is the best approach for dealing with the inclination to disregard others’ welfare.
7. Patience clears away much harm in this and future lives.
8. Patience is the karmic cause of beauty. 

Give up anger, give up conceit,

Pass beyond every fetter.

There is no suffering for one who possesses nothing,

Who doesn't cling to body-and-mind. (Verse 221)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp.59.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 151-154. 

The only thing that goes with us into the next life is our karma. Our friends and relatives, our wealth, even our body we will leave behind. When Buddha states this truth, it is to encourage us to focus today on creating good karma and engaging in spiritual practice. If we look into the mirror of karma, what we are doing today shapes who we become and what we experience in the future, both in this life and future lives. 

Relatives, friends, and companions 

Rejoice 

When a long-absent person

Returns from afar

Just so, in passing from this world to the next, 

The merit we have made

Receives us

As a family does the return of a beloved relative.

--Buddha, The Dhammapada

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 44.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,, Volume 1. Pages 297-301. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

What does it mean to live a holy life in this modern world? The Pali word ‘nekkhamma’ in the Buddhist canon is generally translated as "renunciation". This word also conveys the meaning of giving up the world and leading a holy life. What would our most holy life look like? Do we want to pursue and prioritize a holy life? This episode is dedicated to searching inside ourselves to ask these most meaningful questions. 

“What the development of true renunciation implies is that we no longer rely on sensory pleasures for our ultimate happiness; we see the futility of expecting deep satisfaction from such limited, transitory phenomena. It is important to understand this point clearly. Renunciation is not the same as giving up pleasure or denying ourselves happiness. It means giving up our unreal expectations about ordinary pleasures. These expectations themselves are what turn pleasure into pain. It cannot be said too often that there is nothing wrong with pleasure. It is our grasping, exaggerating, distorting, and polluting attitude toward pleasure that must be abandoned.” —Lama Yeshe

“Although we are social animals, forced to live together, we lack a sense of responsibility toward our fellow humans. Does the fault lie in the basic structures of family and society? In the facilities produced by science and technology? I don’t think so. I think that despite the rapid advances that civilization has made over the past century, the immediate cause of our present situation is exclusively privileging material progress above all else. We have thrown ourselves so frantically into its pursuit that we have neglected to pay attention to the essential human needs of love, kindness, cooperation, and caring. It is clear to me that an authentic sense of responsibility can emerge only if we develop compassion. Only a spontaneous feeling of empathy toward others can motivate us to act on their behalf.” -Dalai Lama 

People hold dear those 

Who have done their own work, 

Complete in virtue and vision, 

Established in the Dhamma, 

And who speak the truth. (217) 

Anyone who aspires to the Indescribable, 

Whose mind is expansive, 

And whose heart is not bound to sensual craving 

Is called “one bound upstream.”

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

Links and References

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 43-44.

H.H. Dalai Lama. My Spiritual Journey. Translated by Charlotte Mandell. Harper Collins, pp. 138-139. 

Yeshe, Thupten. Introduction to Tantra. (Audiobook). Wisdom Publications, Somerville, 2014, pp.39-41.

This is the second episode detailing a method to develop bodhicitta, the wish to attain enlightenment to relieve the suffering of all living beings. The world needs such noble pursuits, which take responsibility for one another. 

Seven Point Cause and Effect Method to Develop Bodhicitta

1. Recognizing that all beings have been our mother 
2. Remembering the kindness of our mothers
3. Developing the wish to repay the kindness of our mothers 
4. Great Love
5. Great Compassion
6. Exceptional resolve
7. Bodhicitta

Developing Great Compassion

The object of compassion is all living beings. The intentions of great compassion are thinking:

“How nice it would be if living beings were free from suffering,”

“May they be free from suffering,” 

“I will cause them to be free from suffering.” 

The steps of the meditation to develop great compassion are first to cultivate it toward someone dear, then toward someone for whom you have neutral feelings, and, finally, toward someone you have aversion to. When you have equal compassion for your enemies and friends, cultivate it gradually toward all living beings in the ten directions.

When you spontaneously feel compassion which has the wish to completely eliminate the sufferings of all living beings—just like a mother’s wish to remove her dear child’s unhappiness—then your compassion is complete and is called great compassion.

The cultivation of wholehearted resolve

At the conclusion of meditating on love and compassion think, “These dear living beings for whom I feel affection are deprived of happiness and tormented by suffering; how can I provide them happiness and free them from suffering?” Thinking in this way, train your mind in this thought in order to take on the responsibility to liberate living beings.

Bodhicitta 

The great Buddhist master, Kamalaśīla, said, “When you have committed yourself to being a guide for all living beings by conditioning yourself to great compassion, you effortlessly generate bodhicitta, which has the nature of aspiring to unexcelled perfect enlightenment.”

Someone aspiring to become a bodhisattva should hold the training in the bodhicitta as the core instruction that motivates all our spiritual practices. Try to sustain the motivation it in and out of meditation.

Kamalaśīla’s second Stages of Meditation says: “Cultivate this compassion toward all beings at all times, whether you are in meditative concentration or in the course of any other activity.”

References and Links

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 43-50.

Perhaps we connect deeply with the idea of universal love and compassion? Or we want to become a bodhisattva bound for enlightenment? But then we wonder, “how can I actually develop love for all living beings?” In this episode, we begin the seven point practice to develop bodhicitta, the wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all living beings. The seven steps include a practical method to develop great love and compassion, the basis for bodhicitta.

Seven Point Cause and Effect Method to Develop Bodhicitta

1. Recognizing that all beings have been our mother 
2. Remembering the kindness of our mothers
3. Developing the wish to repay the kindness of our mothers 
4. Great Love
5. Great Compassion
6. Exceptional resolve
7. Bodhicitta

By making cherishing others our main daily practice, we will discover a real source of happiness in our lives. Cherishing others means acting to make others happy. It opposes selfishness. As we deal with the challenges coming from the Coronavirus pandemic, practicing cherishing others will give us some immediate relief from our problems. Below are the some of the results of cherishing others, but we should discover them ourselves!  

The Benefits of Cherishing Others

1. Is the cause of happiness. 
2. Solves all problems 
3. Makes relationships harmonious and stable
4. Is the cause of success and happiness in this life
5. Leads to all good qualities.
6. Leads to the lasting peace and bliss of full enlightenment

How is cherishing others the cause of our own happiness?

When an action is motivated by the intention to cherishing others, to make them happy or help them, it creates good karma. Good karma is the root cause of every moment of pleasure or happiness, from health and harmony in relationships to a moment of joy. For example, we gave to others in the past and that created the karma for us to have enough resources in this life. Why did we give to others in the past? Because we cherished them and felt their happiness was important. 

In the past, we gave to others to alleviate some need they had--like hunger--or to give them pleasure. Later we experience a similar result: we have delicious, plentiful food or we have a mind predisposed to happiness. Every positive action we undertook in the past was motivated by cherishing others in some way. Thus, every happiness we enjoy comes from cherishing others. Even a sky filled with diamonds is not as valuable as this mind of cherishing others. 

**In our meditation we come to this object: a heartfelt conclusion and intention, “I must make cherishing others my main practice in daily life.”

“Whether or not we are aware of it, from the day we are born, the need for affection is in our very blood. I believe that no one is born without this need for love. And contrary to certain modern schools of thought, this demonstrates that human beings are not limited to the physical plane alone. No material object, no matter how beautiful or precious it is, can give us the feeling of being loved, because our deeper identity, our true character, is rooted in the subjective nature of the mind.” —Dalai Lama, My Spiritual Journey 

References:

Dalai Lama (2009). My Spiritual Journey. Translated by Charlotte Mandell. Harper Collins. 

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 2. Pages 181-208. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor. 

What if we could tune our body and mind, like a fine instrument, to peacefulness? What if we could be calm, relaxed and peaceful all the time? In this episode we return to a simple, effective mindfulness practice to de-stress. We also try to strengthen our motivation to become a peaceful person beyond ourselves alone. 

Mindfulness Practice to De-stress 

1. Aspire to become a calm and peaceful person, even in challenging situations.
2. Try to be mindful of whether you’re feeling calm and when you start to become tense.
3. Calm yourself. When you start to feel tension or stress, turn toward calming yourself—rather than doing anything to affect the situation. This is vital.
4. When you notice tension and stress, start breathing deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand. Or, if possible, close your eyes and begin a brief breathing meditation (see below). 
5. Breathe deeply and say to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
6. Continue this Diaphragmatic breathing or a breathing meditation until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it might take much longer.
7. Remember the world is empty and dreamlike.
8. Put a little smile on your face. Try to have fun and find joy in things.
9. Keep trying this mindfulness practice and calming technique whenever you need it. You’ll get better at with practice, and eventually you will be able to tame your mind and be calm all day. 

Relaxing Meditation 

If you find yourself getting stressed—and have time and space for a five minute meditation—this can help you reset your state to calm and relaxed. 

1. Close your eyes.
2. Check that you have a nice straight back.
3. Breathe through nostrils.
4. You can put your hands in the mudra of meditative equipoise. Place your hands in your lap, the right hand resting in the left, and the thumbs gently touching forming a bridge. 
5. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm.
6. Count, starting at one, as you breathe in. 1….2….3….4….5
7. Count as you exhale, but exhale more slowly as your breathe out. 1….2….3….4….5….6…..7….8…..9….10
8. You can meditate for only as long as it takes your body and mind to enter a more peaceful state. 
9. When you arise from your meditation, look at your experiences as a projection of your mind, like a dream. 
10. Try to stay peaceful. Relax. Enjoy.

Hunger is the foremost illness; 

Saṇkhāras the foremost suffering. 

For one who knows this as it really is, 

Nirvana is the foremost happiness. (203)*

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

This is the third of a series to help us with problems, anxiety and fear during these difficult times caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. We can transform our activities into a deeply spiritual practice by having the compassionate intention to alleviate the suffering of others. Simply by remembering that we are staying at home out of compassion for those who might become ill, our same actions have the function of compassion, which has five effects:

• It purifies our bad karma 
• Creates good karma
• Makes our mind strong and resilient
• Lessons problems between people
• Creates the cause of enlightenment 

“In every life situation, you need compassion. When you live with your family, you need compassion. Without compassion, your family life is full of problems and suffering.” —Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche

References

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. (August, 1997). Practicing the Good Heart [oral teaching]. Retrieved from https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/chapter-five-practicing-good-heart

Parsons, S. (March 31, 2020). China’s Divorce Spike Is a Warning to Rest of Locked-Down World. Bloomberg [online article]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-31/divorces-spike-in-china-after-coronavirus-quarantines

By being present we actually experience life. It is only in this moment that we live. Being present can help us enjoy the gift that is this day, this hour, this sunset, this connection. By the simple practice of reminding yourself to “be present,” we can bring ourselves back into the moment and free be from worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. This episode is the second in a series to help people through the challenges caused by the Coronaviris, such anxiety, worry and isolation.

Do not pursue the past.

Do not lose yourself in the future. 

The past no longer is.

The future has not yet come. 

Looking deeply at life as it is

In the very here and now,

The practitioner dwells

In stability and freedom.

—Buddha, Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone

“The miracle of mindfulness is, first of all, that you are here. Being truly here is very important—being here for yourself, and for the one you love. How can you love if you are not here? A fundamental condition for love is your own presence. In order to love, you must be here. That is certain.”--Thich Nhat Hann 

“Fortunately, being here is not a difficult thing to accomplish. It is enough to breathe and let go of thinking or planning. Just come back to yourself, concentrate on your breath, and smile. You are here, body and mind together. You are here, alive, completely alive. That is a miracle.”--Thich Nhat Hann 

References

Buddha. Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone. Beginners Mind Sangha [website PDF]. Retrieved from 

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56cf7b141bbee0d2dcf8f7a1/t/5729213b9f72666203df42cd/1462313276936/Sutra+on+Knowing+the+Better+Way+to+Live+Alone.pdf

Thich Nhat Hanh. You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, 2010. 

Learning how to listen to teachings and having respect for the teacher create the right conditions for your mind to change. In this episode, we explore Je Tsongkhapa’s instructions on “How to listen to the teachings by relying on the Six Ideas. Your mind opens when you feel the teaching is medicine that can cure your specific suffering or difficulty. Buddhist Teacher JoAnn Fox explains how to put these instructions into practice with some struggle you're currently experiencing. 

When you receive Buddhist teachings in a formal setting and see the teacher being prostrated before or given gifts, it may seem strange in our modern world. Respect for the teacher, however, is a cause. The effect is that your mind opens to the meaning behind the words and their value to your life. Therefore, respect for the teacher and teachings is a condition for transformation to happen. When you pay homage or make offerings, it shows that you believe it’s precious. 

How to listen to the Teachings by relying on the Six Ideas

1. Think of yourself as a sick person.

“Stricken with the virulent and chronic disease of the three mental poisons [attachment, hostility, and ignorance], we are extremely sick, but we are completely unaware that we are ill.”

1. Think of the instructor as a doctor.

2. Think of the teachings as medicine.

3. Think of sincere practice as the way to cure your disease.

4. Think of the Buddhas as excellent beings.

5. Wish that the teaching will endure for a long time (Je Tsongkhapa, 2014).

If from somebody one should learn the Teaching of the Buddha, he should respectfully pay homage to that teacher, as a brahmin worships the sacrificial fire. (Verse 392)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

 References with Links

Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=392

 Je Tsongkhapa (2014). Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1 (Kindle). Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pg 58-63. 

Find us at the links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

Facebook Group:Join our private group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

Website: Buddhismforeveryone.com

This episode is about a very old Buddhist practice called ‘transforming adversity into the spiritual path’ and is intended to give quick relief and peace in these challenging times. Our world has changed so much since the arising of the coronavirus pandemic. We can transform our personal struggles and anxiety into the spiritual path by cherishing others. This will bring us inner calm, happiness and solve tension between people.

This practice involves cherishing others in three ways:

1. Making ourselves calm and relaxed for the benefit of others. Practice the relaxing breathing meditation (see instructions below).
2. Being mindful of our actions in order to protect those who are at-risk of great suffering from Covid-19.
3. Cherishing those we are spending most of our time with. In Buddhism love is a verb. We cherish others by behaving in ways and doing things to make them happy or peaceful.

A Simple Breathing Meditation to Relax your Body and Mind

1. Straighten your back comfortably. Rest your hands in the lap. Close your eyes.
2. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand.
3. Breathe out more slowly than you breathe in. 
4. Count during your inhalation, starting at one.
5. Count during your exhalation, also beginning at one and making sure your count is longer during the breath out. This way of breathing has a physiological effect of calming the body.
6. Continue this breathing meditation until you feel peaceful in your body and mind. 
7. Breath, enjoy and abide in this peacefulness. More experienced meditators can do this meditation for an extended period. Do it as long as you enjoy it.
8. At the end of your meditation, breathe out slowly and say inwardly to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
9. Put a little smile on your face. Try to find joy in things.

Whenever you start feeling stressed, you can do this breathing meditation with your eyes open during your daily activities. Do it until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it may take longer. You’ll get better at this calming technique with practice. With enough practice, eventually you can tame your mind and be calm all day. Ideally, meditate every morning to set the tone of your day to one of peace and calm.    

References and Links

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 173-175.

Attachment is defined as a mental affliction, which is a habit that robs causes us suffering. Attachment arises like this:

We encounter something pleasant + inappropriate attention/exaggerating its good qualities = attachment arises (the feeling we can not be happy without it)

Sometimes we are attached to people being different than they are, to being right, drugs, alcohol, or unhealthy food. In all these cases, it is not the person or object that makes us unhappy, but our attachment that causes us to suffer.

What attachment is not:

Letting go of attachment does not mean that we don’t own things, but that those things don’t own us. 

Letting go of attachment doesn’t mean that we don’t have love others, but that we love them without attachment. 

Longing gives rise to grief; 

Longing gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from longing 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (212) 

Affection gives rise to grief; 

Affection gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from affection 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (213) 

Infatuation gives rise to grief; 

Infatuation gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from infatuation

There is no grief; And from where would come fear? (214) 

Sensual craving gives rise to grief; 

Sensual craving gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from sensual craving There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear? (215) 

Craving gives rise to grief; 

Craving gives rise to fear. 

For someone released from craving 

There is no grief; 

And from where would come fear?

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56-57

It is so easy to get entangled with the pressures of work, family dramas, relationship issues etc. The body and mind are finely tuned to handle acute stress, but not the prolonged, daily stress we experience from these emotional entanglements. How then do we follow the Buddha’s advice, “Don’t get entangled with what you long for or dislike”? In this episode, we explore how we turn situations and people into things we long for or dislike. We can engage in a mindfulness practice to stop ourselves from getting stressed, angry or attached by reminding ourselves: “Don’t get entangled. It is empty.”

Don’t get entangled 

With what you long for or dislike.

Not seeing what you long for is suffering;

So also is seeing what you dislike. (210)* 

Therefore, do not turn anything 

Into something longed for, 

For then it’s dreadful to lose. 

Without longing or dislike, 

No bonds exist.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56.

The ancient meditation known as the ‘the magical practice of taking and giving’ is a profound method to:

• transform our suffering into a tool to help others
• purify our negative karma
• make our mind strong and resilient 
• develop universal compassion
• eventually attain enlightenment

In this episode, we learn how to do this practice formally, seated, as well as in daily life. This practice can be done with our eyes open, whenever we see someone suffering. It can help us make our own suffering meaningful and easier to bear, and even purify the karmic causes of it. 

Practicing what one shouldn’t, 

Not practicing what one should, 

Having abandoned the goal, 

Clinging to what is dear, 

One comes to envy those who practice. (209)*

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 56.

This episode is devoted to the meditation of loving-kindness, a profound method to develop love for all living beings. It creates immeasurable good karma, diminishes ill will toward others and creates the cause of our own enlightenment. Scientific research has also been done on the results of people practicing this meditation. 

Research indicates these benefits:

1. Increases positive emotions. One study showed that seven weeks of practicing the loving-kindness meditation increased multiple positive emotions including love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe.
2. Quiets your inner critic
3. Strengthens capacity for empathy
4. Decreases migraines
5. Increases compassion 
6. Slows the aging process. In another eye-opening study researchers found that women with experience in loving-kindness meditation had relatively longer telomere length (a biological marker of aging) when compared to age-matched controls.

Loving-kindness Prayer Within the Meditation 

May you be happy

May you be well

May your body and mind be at ease

May all good fortune and successes in life come to you

May you be healthy

May you have all the wealth you need

May your happiness increase day by day 

May you never know a day of sadness

May you experience the supreme happiness of enlightenment. 

Verse 206-208 of The Dhammapada

It’s good to see the noble ones; 

Their company is always a delight. 

Free from the sight of fools,

One would constantly be happy.

One who keeps company with fools

Will grieve for a long, long time. 

Living with fools is painful,

As is living with foes.

Living with the wise is delightful,

Like relatives gathered together.

Therefore:

You should always follow a good, intelligent person

Who is wise, insightful, learned,

Committed to virtue, dutiful and noble, 

As the moon follows the path of the stars. (208)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Abrahmson, L. 6 Amazing Benefits of Loving Kindness Meditation Backed by Science. Lifehack (blog post). Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/361244/6-amazing-benefits-loving-kindness-meditation-backed-science

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54-55.

To bring more joy and lessen the stress in our lives, we can turn to the practice of kindfulness. Mindfulness, the conscious awareness of our thoughts and intentions, tuned into ways to be kind to others is ‘kindfulness.’ First coined by the monk Ajahn Brahm, kindfulness is a gentle way to more align our life with the law of karma. According to the law of karma, every act of kindness creates the cause for our own future happiness. Being kind usually makes us feel pretty good in the moment too! 

Research also indicates that kindness has many good effects on our heath and even slows the aging process! Dr David Hamilton, author of The Five Side-Effects Of Kindness, says, “Being kind generates the “kindness” hormone oxytocin, which also happens to be a major cardiovascular hormone. It keeps the arteries clear and lowers blood pressure by reducing levels of harmful free radicals and inflammation, which cause disease. These are also the main culprits for causing ageing to our cells, so you could also say that kindness slows the ageing process.”

Tasting the flavor 

Of solitude and peace,

One becomes free of distress and evil,

Drinking the flavor of Dharma joy. (Verse 205)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Carlyle, R. (2018, May 20). Kindfulness: It’s the new twist on mindfulness — being consciously kind to others. The best thing? It’s good for you, too. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5750811/Kindfulness-new-twist-mindfulness-consciously-kind-others.html

For many, the practice of contentment is a completely new idea. Learning, practicing and becoming good at contentment means  we come to enjoy our life more and more.  In this episode we discover how to practice contentment with ourselves, other people, and our life. 

Link to the Character Strength Survey mentioned, https://www.viacharacter.org

Health is the foremost possession, 

Contentment, the foremost wealth,

Trust, the foremost kinship, 

And Nirvana, the foremost happiness.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Kaufman, S. (Host). (2019, Mar. 21) “Ignite Your Character Strengths” [Podcast]. The Psychology Podcast. Retrieved from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-psychology-podcast/id942777522?i=1000432732066

McGrath, R., & Niemiec, R. (2020). “VIA Survey” [website]. Retrieved from https://www.viacharacter.org

What if we could tune our body and mind, like a fine instrument, to peacefulness? What if we could be calm, relaxed and peaceful all the time? In this episode we return to a simple, effective mindfulness practice to de-stress. We also try to strengthen our motivation to become a peaceful person beyond ourselves alone. 

Mindfulness Practice to De-stress 

1. Aspire to become a calm and peaceful person, even in challenging situations.
2. Try to be mindful of whether you’re feeling calm and when you start to become tense.
3. Calm yourself. When you start to feel tension or stress, turn toward calming yourself—rather than doing anything to affect the situation. This is vital.
4. When you notice tension and stress, start breathing deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand. Or, if possible, close your eyes and begin a brief breathing meditation (see below). 
5. Breathe deeply and say to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
6. Continue this Diaphragmatic breathing or a breathing meditation until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it might take much longer.
7. Remember the world is empty and dreamlike.
8. Put a little smile on your face. Try to have fun and find joy in things.
9. Keep trying this mindfulness practice and calming technique whenever you need it. You’ll get better at with practice, and eventually you will be able to tame your mind and be calm all day. 

Relaxing Meditation 

If you find yourself getting stressed—and have time and space for a five minute meditation—this can help you reset your state to calm and relaxed. 

1. Close your eyes.
2. Check that you have a nice straight back.
3. Breathe through nostrils.
4. You can put your hands in the mudra of meditative equipoise. Place your hands in your lap, the right hand resting in the left, and the thumbs gently touching forming a bridge. 
5. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm.
6. Count, starting at one, as you breathe in. 1….2….3….4….5
7. Count as you exhale, but exhale more slowly as your breathe out. 1….2….3….4….5….6…..7….8…..9….10
8. You can meditate for only as long as it takes your body and mind to enter a more peaceful state. 
9. When you arise from your meditation, look at your experiences as a projection of your mind, like a dream. 
10. Try to stay peaceful. Relax. Enjoy.

Hunger is the foremost illness; 

Saṇkhāras the foremost suffering. 

For one who knows this as it really is, 

Nirvana is the foremost happiness. (203)*

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Almost everyone wants to be less stressed and more peaceful. Even as our modern world ramps up the external stressors, we can learn to make ourselves calm and relaxed. The Buddha said, “there is no happiness higher than peace”. This episode guides us through a simple process to become more peaceful and to de-stress. 

Mindfulness Practice to De-stress 

1. Aspire to become a calm and peaceful person, even in challenging situations.
2. Try to be mindful of whether you’re feeling calm. Notice when you start to feel tense.
3. Calm yourself. When you start to feel tension or stress, turn toward calming yourself—rather than doing anything to affect the situation. This is vital.
4. When you notice tension and stress, start breathing deeply from the diaphragm, feeling your stomach expand. Or, if possible, close your eyes and begin a brief breathing meditation (see below). 
5. Breathe deeply and say to yourself “calm” “relaxed”. Try to tune your body to these feelings...calm...relaxed. 
6. Continue this Diaphragmatic breathing or a breathing meditation until you feel relaxed. This might take only a minute or it might take much longer.
7. Remember the world is empty and dreamlike.
8. Put a little smile on your face. Try to have fun and find joy in things.
9. Keep trying this mindfulness practice and calming technique whenever you need it. You’ll get better at with practice, and eventually you will be able to tame your mind and be calm all day. 

Part 2 Daily Meditation 

1. Ideally, meditate every morning. You can do the simple breathing meditation or any meditation you’d like. If you are new to meditating daily, you can meditate for only a few minutes. Or you can meditate for only as long as it takes your body and mind to enter a more peaceful state. Sometimes you might not be able to move your mind to a more relaxed state; no worries, just meditate anyway. Take the seat. Putting effort to begin the day in a state of peace will help you be mindful of peacefulness and help you stay relaxed. 
2. Let the experiences of life dissolve into your peaceful state. 
3. Think of your world as empty, dreamlike.
4. Keep a little smile on your face. 
5. Enjoy everything you can. 

There is no fire like lust

No misfortune like hate,

No suffering like the aggregates

And no happiness higher than peace.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

A Simple Breathing Meditation 

1. Sit with your back straight and your shoulders dropped and relaxed.
2. You can put your hands in the mudra of meditative equipoise. To do this, place your hands in your lap with your palms facing upward. Rest your right hand in your left. Touch your thumbs, forming a bridge. 
3. Breathe through your nostrils.
4. Breathe deeply, from your diaphragm.
5. Observe the sensation of your breath at your nostrils.  Instead of paying attention to thoughts, allow your only thought to be watching the breath.
6. Like watching the water lapping at the shore, calm the mind by watching the gentle rise and fall of the breath at your nostrils. 
7. When you exhale, really feel yourself relaxing...deeper and deeper with every exhalation. 
8. When your mind wanders, without judging yourself, bring it back to the breath.

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Oz, M. (2019), Apr. 11). America’s Doctor: The Dr. Oz Podcast. How to Stress Less [podcast]. Episode 94.

This episode explores the art of ethical living, guided by the practice of restraint. Restraint involves intentionally moderating and controlling one's actions, speech, and thoughts. We cultivate restraint to minimize the harm we cause and to build the foundation for spiritual development. A good guide for our practice of restraint is the Five Precepts. The Five Precepts were given to his lay (not ordained) followers as ethical guidelines that include the vow to abstain from killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, lying, and becoming intoxicated. 

How to practice the ethical discipline of restraint:
Generate the motivation to practice restraint with some action
Decide we're going to do it 
Use mindfulness to remember that we've decided to practice restraint
Put this decision into practice

Whoever does no ill 
Through body, speech, and mind, 
And is restrained in these three areas, 
I call a brahmin. (Verse 391)
--Buddha, The Dhammapada

Reference with Link: Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011. (Link)

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1,200 years ago, the Buddhist Master Shantideva offered a Buddhist approach to lasting change in his Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. The four powers of effort can be used as steps to making a specific change reaching a goal.

The Four Powers of Effort

1. Aspiration. A strong wish (aspiration) is a fundamental basis to accomplish an important goal. The most powerful wishes comes when the outcome is meaningful to us and is an expression of our values. Living in accordance with our values is a path toward happiness and is a type of success that can reliably bring us satisfaction. External success may or may not be achieved or even deliver the happiness we believed it would. But acting in accordance with our values will bring us peace. 
2. Steadfastness. What is the smallest, most manageable step you can take in the next 24 hours to move in the direction of your goal? Very clearly identify the first step, according to your capacity. Plan the step for the following day. Try to make one step toward your goal each day. If we diligently put these planned steps into action, from this steadfastness will come a newfound confidence. The Buddha said that “with effort we have all attainments”. 
3. Joy. Try to make the plan for change a joyful one. We won’t do what makes us suffer for very long! Adopting new habits will be challenging, but the experience can’t be very unpleasant. The spiritual path should be a joyful one if we are practicing correctly.
4. Rest. Rest is a power of effort. Plan to take rest and have a break. Also, when we have an unexpected rest (when we diverge from our plan or slip-up), don’t feel that you have failed. Steadfastness means we are going in the direction of our dreams, not that we are perfect.

 The verses from the Dhammapada we studied in this episode are:

Ah, so happily we live, 

We who have no attachment,

We shall feast on joy,

As do the radiant gods.

Victory gives birth to hate,

The defeated sleep in anguish.

Giving up both victory and defeat,

Those who have attained peace sleep happily.

—Buddha, the Dhammapada 

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 54.

Esposito, C. (2015). The Calm Living Blueprint. [podcast] Episodes 10-11. 

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor. Pages 181-208.  

Within a series of episodes on happiness, we look at how to de-stress. First, we can become mindful of emptiness as an antidote to stress. We can also try to “always do our best” to loosen the grip that busyness has on us and become less attached to outcomes. To always do our best can also mean that we look honestly at where our own ethics or beliefs don't line up with our actions. For a happier and more peaceful life, we can become mindful of emptiness and practice always doing our best. 

Ah, so happily we live, 

Without ambition among those with ambition. 

Among people who are ambitious 

We live without ambition. (199)

--Buddha (Dhammapada, verse 46)

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada, translated by Gil Fronsdale. (2011). Shambala, pp. 53. 

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume 3. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor. Pages 1961, 2014, 2019.

The Benefits of Cherishing Others

1. Cherishing others is the cause of all happiness. Good karma is the root cause of every moment of pleasure or happiness, from wealth and beauty to a moment enjoying a magnificent sunset. For example, we gave to others in the past and that created the karma for us to have enough resources in this life. Why did we give to others in the past? Because we cherished them and felt their happiness was important, we gave to them to alleviate some need they had--like hunger-- or to give them pleasure. Every positive action we undertook in the past was motivated by cherishing others in some way. Thus, every happiness we enjoy comes from having cherished others in the past. Even a sky filled with diamonds is not as valuable as this mind of cherishing others. I must make cherishing others my main practice in daily life.
2. Solves all problems 
3. Makes relationships harmonious and stable
4. Is the cause of success and happiness in this life
5. Cherishing others leads to all good qualities.
6. Leads to the lasting peace and bliss of full enlightenment

How can we be truly happy? We may wonder if it’s even possible. Buddhism is a more scientific study of the mind and offers a path to happiness. As we study the chapter called Happiness in the Dhammapada, we look specifically at how to be happy and uproot what causes us misery in our lives. Thus, there is a two-fold solution: address what causes us unhappiness and create the causes of future happiness. This episode explores both and offers a mindfulness practice to lift the mind up and create the causes of future happiness. 

It’s easy to be happy when things are going well. The magic happens when discover how to be peaceful and happy when things aren’t going the way we would have liked. It takes a switch of the mind in the moment. It takes turning our attention from what’s wrong…...to all the things that are right. As humans, there are so many things going right for us. If we are able to train our mind to pay attention to the positive rather than the negative, we can live a bright new world. 

Secondly, to create the causes of future happiness we can train our mind to be in the present moment and to cherish others. The mind of cherishing others, will lead us all the way to enlightenment. The Buddha pointed to the power of cherishing others when he spoke of the Bodhisattva, a person who has dedicated their life to waking up for the benefit of all living beings—out of compassion. As inspiration for our mindfulness practice this week, also our Bodhisattva practice, we ask ourselves The Three Questions from Leo Tolstoy’s short story. The Emperor's three questions to the wise hermit were:

When is the best time to start something?

Who are the most important people?

What is the most important thing to do?

The answers and our mindfulness practice:

The time to start is now. 

The most important person is the one you are with. 

The most important thing to do is to cherish this person— to do them good.

Ah, so happily we live, 

Without misery among those in misery. 

Among people in misery

We live without misery. (198)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References and Links

Brahm, A. [Buddhist Society of Western Australia].(2009, June). On Patience [Youtube video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Gl0Lyxi8nbQ

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 53.

Tolstoy, L. The Three Questions. [web PDF] Friends Acedemy. Retrieved from 

https://www.fa.org/uploaded/US_Attachments/SR9Questions.pdf

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 161-164.

The first person harmed by anger is oneself. The Buddha said that harming others in anger is like thrusting a burning torch at another person, but doing it upwind, so that the flames blow and scorch our own face. In this episode we look at an antidote to anger, the practice of loving kindness. Lovingkindness is the intention that wishes another to be happy. A prayer of loving kindness is “May you be happy, may you be free [from suffering]”. In this episode we meditated on loving kindness in three rounds as an antidote to our own anger. First loving kindness to ourselves, recognizing the anger harms us terribly. Secondly, will you choose someone that we normally have intermittent anger towards at the moment and weTo think about the ways that this person suffers and wish them to be happy and free. Finally, we generated loving kindness towards all living beings and imagined we sent out rays of light to each living being bringing them happiness and freedom from hatred. We imagined a world beyond hatred, where all wars have ceased and all  people practice lovingkindness towards one another. Being mindful of our own anger and trying to quell it before it manifest through lovingkindness is our mindfulness practice for the week.

Ah, so happily we live, 

Without hate among those with hate. 

Among people who hate 

We live without hate. (197)*

       —Buddha, The Dhammpada

References 

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 53.

Doering, S. (2004). In This World, Hate Never Yet Dispelled Hate. Insight Journal [article]. Retrieved from https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/in-this-world-hate-never-yet-dispelled-hate/. 

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 161-164.

The Bodhisattva Prayer 

May I be a protector for the protectorless 

A guide for those on the path

A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood

May I be

a light in the darkness

A resting place for the weary

A healing medicine for all who are sick

A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles

And for the boundless multitudes of living beings

May I bring sustenance and awakening

Enduring like the earth and sky

Until all beings are freed from sorrow

And all are awaken

—by Shantideva, Buddhist sage 700 A.D., India

You can commit the prayer to memory. You can use it as a daily prayer to cultivate great compassion and become a bodhisattva. It can also be uttered spontaneously when confronted by the suffering of others. It is said this Prayer is performed each morning by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

We’ve been working for our own happiness our whole lives. Every action we’ve taken has been to create or restore happiness. If we have put all this effort into a singular objective—our own happiness—and we are still not happy and satisfied, then we must be using the wrong methods. The Buddha taught that our obsessive self concern, which seeks our own happiness alone, actually destroys the causes of happiness. Instead the Buddha advises that we open our heart and start working for the happiness of all living beings. This supremely altruistic intention makes our life meaningful and joyful. If we develop an unselfish wish for the happiness of all living beings, how do we fulfill this wish? The Buddha suggests that that the very best thing you can do for all beings is to become an awakened person yourself. This wish to become an enlightened being for the benefit of all is called bodhicitta. A person who has developed this spontaneous, unwavering wish is a bodhisattva. The practice for the week is the first training of the bodhisattva, equanimity. Equanimity is an equal, open hearted love for all things. No enemies. This episodes includes a meditation to develop equanimity and a mindfulness practice to train in it during daily life.

“If we truly wish to fulfill our highest potential—or even if we only want to achieve a certain mundane satisfaction in our daily life—then we must overcome this self-cherishing and dedicate ourselves as fully as possible to the welfare of others. This is the only way to achieve a completely opened heart, the only way to experience lasting happiness.”

—Lama Yeshe 

Happy is the arising of buddhas; 

Happy is the teaching of the true Dharma; 

Happy is the harmony of the Sangha; 

Happy is the ardent practice of those in harmony. (194)* 

The merit of worshipping those worthy of worship, q. 

Be they buddhas or disciples 

Who have transcended their obsessive thinking, 

Passed beyond sorrow and grief, 

Gone to peace, 

And who have nothing to fear, 

Can never be calculated by any estimation.

—Buddha, The Dhammapada 

References 

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 51.

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pp 36. 

The Buddha taught The Four Noble Truths to show people a path to lasting peace and happiness. Buddha, like universal doctor, diagnosed why we suffer and have dissatisfaction. The prognosis is good, for there is a cure. The cure lies in the Eightfold Path, a noble, wise and compassionate way of life. This episode offers a mindfulness practice on the right intention, part of the Eightfold Path. 

The Four Noble Truths

1. The Truth of Suffering
2. The Origin of Suffering
3. The End of Suffering
4. The Path

The Noble Eightfold Path

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Meditation 

But when someone going for refuge 

To the Buddha, 

Dharma, and 

Sangha Sees, with right insight, 

The Four Noble Truths: 

Suffering, 

The arising of suffering, 

The overcoming of suffering, 

And the Eightfold Path 

Leading to the ending of suffering, 

Then this is the secure refuge; 

This is the supreme refuge. 

By going to such a refuge 

One is released from all suffering. (190–192)* 

It’s hard to find a noble person;

Such a person is not born everywhere. 

When such a wise one is born, 

The family flourishes in happiness. (193)

--Buddha, The Dhammapada

References 

Buddha. The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 50-51.

We’re always going to refuge to something to solve our problems or alleviate our suffering. We’ve been doing this our whole life. We might take refuge in drugs, wealth, another person or food. But these are ‘false refuge’ because they do not provide lasting satisfaction and can even cause more problems. Buddhism speaks of another type of refuge. Traditionally, taking refuge in Buddhism means to turn to  the 3 jewels to solve our problems and pain:

dharma (the teachings),

sangha (spiritual community) 

Buddha (the source of the teachings)

Going for refuge to the three jewels is the way one becomes a Buddhist, if they are interested in that label. In Tibetan, another term for a Buddhist is nangpa, meaning “inner being”. One becomes an inner being by creating a source of happiness inside, and they also solve their problems inwardly. I believe this means anyone, of any religion, can be an inner being. Just as someone who is Jewish or Muslim or Christian would go to the therapist and rely on their advice to solve some of their problems, anyone can use Buddhism to solve their problems and make their mind a source of happiness.

There is a three point system to check whether what you are turning to for refuge is false refuge or real refuge. Real refuge will do the following:

1. It doesn’t create any unwanted side effects or more problems. 
2. It addresses the real source of the problem.
3. It creates peace in the mind.

When we engage in the mindfulness practice offered in this episode, we try to solve some recurrent problem in our life by going for refuge—putting the teachings of Buddha into practice. We might respond with real refuge by developing compassion, practicing patience, or observing how our mind is creating the problem. 

We can also check and mindfully observe when we are taking false refuge. What are we doing now that is false refuge, and does it have unwanted side effects or cause more problems? I bet it does! Each of us will have to discover the real refuge  solution for ourselves. It is always a noble response. When you identify what it is that would be true refuge, you can look the subject up in previous podcast episodes or you can message me if you have a question. Instagram @buddhism.with.joann.fox or Facebook Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox

But when someone going for refuge 

To the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha 

Sees, with right insight, 

The Four Noble Truths: 

Suffering, 

The arising of suffering, 

The overcoming of suffering, 

And the Eightfold Path 

Leading to the ending of suffering, 

Then this is the secure refuge; 

This is the supreme refuge.

By going to such a refuge 

One is released from all suffering. (190–192)*

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

References 

The Dhammapada, by Buddha. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 50. 

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1. Pages 297-301. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

This week we try to practice and improve our patience.The practice of patience is to keep a peaceful state of mind by accepting things as they are— having given up the idea that things should be other than the way they are. Further, this week we will try to untie a knot in our life, something that continuously causes us to become unpeaceful. Will do this by trying to accept the situation and changing the way that we view it. The opposite of patience, anger, arises when we experience unpleasant feelings in the mind and we start to focus on it with inappropriate attention. This inappropriate attention is what gives rise to anger. Instead of reacting with blame or thoughts of the faults about the situation/person, this week we will try to have a different way of thinking about it. We can try to see the promise in the problem. In other words, we ask ourselves how the situation will help us. We see how it is the unfolding of something positive. We also meditated on the benefits of patience, a traditional way to begin our practice of patience. 

Benefits of Patience:

1. Persons who have patience will not have many enemies later on.
2. You will not have many separations from those to whom you are close.
3. much happiness 
4. no regret at the time of death
5. fortunate rebirth 
6. patience stops you from turning away from others’ welfare
7. Solves your problems
8. long lasting relationships
9. karmic cause of beauty in future 
10. happiness in this life and the next 

Not disparaging others, not causing injury,

Practicing restraint by monastic rules,

Knowing moderation in food,

Dwelling in solitude,

And pursuing the higher states of mind,

This is the teachings of the buddhas.

--Buddha, the Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 48.

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pop.152-154. 

This episode explores the question “Where does anger come from?” Buddhist teacher, JoAnn Fox, also provides several practical ways to prevent anger from arising (when it typically would)! 

Anger doesn’t come from another person or a situation. Anger comes from our thoughts. Specifically, when we pay inappropriate attention to an unpleasant object and dwell on its faults, we work ourselves up until anger arises. That point at which anger is manifest is when the mind is unpeaceful and uncontrolled. 

A very sad aspect of anger is that this mental state has the wish to harm. The intention to harm is the nature of anger, just as the nature of fire is to burn. We don’t want to harm those we love and cherish, but when we’re angry that mind wants to harm them. That makes Buddha’s advice to turn “ away from the intent to harm” and not “set anger loose” so important for all our relationships. 

The first step in solving an anger problem is to admit we have one and decide we must do something about it. Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this advice to a person who worked as a driver for a Dharma center. The driver complained of being very angry with his family and asked Rinpoche for some mantras to help him. Lama Zopa’s response began:

“My dear one,

You have recognized that anger arising is not good and that you must do something about it. You’re responsible for stopping that problem. Even this is progression toward peace and happiness.”

How beautiful and powerful is this first discovery and the wish to change!

One should not strike a brahmin 

And a brahmin should not set [anger] loose. 

Shame on the one who hits a brahmin 

And greater shame on the one who sets [anger] loose. (389)* 

For the brahmin, nothing is better 

Than restraining the mind 

From what it cherishes. 

Whenever one turns away from the intent to harm, 

Suffering is allayed. (390)

—Buddha, The Dhammapada

Reference with Link

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 78 (Link)

Find us at the links below: 

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Website: Buddhismforeveryone.com

Whenever we patiently except some suffering, pain or irritation we purify karma that created it. To mindfully harness the power of this process, we can do a karma cleanse. The karma cleanse described in this episode requires we fast from blame—no blame for one week. In particular, we refrain from blaming any living being. It might appear to us that the source of a problem is something a person did or said. But problems are inside our mind; they are not outside of our mind. 

What is patience?

Patience accepts things as they are, having given up the idea that things should be other than the way that they are. Buddhist Master Je Tsonghapa said, “Perfecting patience means that you simply complete your conditioning to a state of mind wherein you have stopped your anger and the like. It is not contingent upon all living beings becoming free from undisciplined conduct because you would not be able to bring this about, and because you accomplish your purpose just by disciplining your own mind.”

Doing no evil, 

Engaging in what’s skillful, 

And purifying one’s mind: 

This is the teaching of the buddhas. (183) 

Patient endurance is the supreme austerity. 

The buddhas say that Nirvana is supreme.

One who injures others is no renunciant;

One who harms another is no contemplative. (184)*

--Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 48.

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 2. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pop.152-154. 

The teachings of Buddha show us how to develop habits of happiness and peace. By practicing mindfulness we can train our mind and become anyway we want. No matter how confused, lonely, anxious or angry we are habitually, we can change. In this episode, we look at a verse that distill all of Buddha's teaching into three practices:

Do no harm

Practice what’s skillful

Purify your mind 

The great Tibetan Buddhist Master Je Tsongkhapa, explains how to practice mindfulness, "examine your physical, verbal, and mental actions all day and all night. By this means, you will put an end to miserable rebirths. However, if at the outset you are not versed in the classifications of cause and effect, understanding only a fragment of their depth and having a lax attitude with your physical, verbal, and mental actions, then you are merely throwing open the door to the miserable realms."

It is difficult to be born a human; 

Difficult is the life of mortals; 

It is difficult to hear the true Dharma; 

Difficult is the arising of buddhas. (182) 

Doing no harm, 

Practice what’s skillful, 

Purify one’s mind: 

This is the teaching of the buddhas.

--Buddha, The Dhammapada

References

Buddha. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita. Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, 1985. pp. 48.

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor, pop. 210-245. 

The habit of attachment gives rise to craving, and craving robs us of our inner peace and happiness in the most deceptive ways. Attachment is on of the main mental afflictions Buddha described. The afflictions of anger and jealousy obviously steal our peace, but attachment might seem like it is creating happiness! An affliction is defined as a metal habit that, when it arises, disturbs the mind. To eliminate afflictions, you must know the afflictions’ faults,  characteristics, remedies, and the causes of their arising. In this episode, we will discover attachments faults and remedies for this mental poison.

Attachment means noticing a pleasant or attractive object and desiring it. When attachment clings to its object and grows stronger, it is hard to tear yourself away from the object, just as it is difficult to remove oil which has soaked into a cloth.

Mindfulness practice: Choose peace. Let go. 

The Buddha’s victory cannot be undone; 

No one in the world can approach it. 

By what path would you guide him, 

Who has no path, 

Whose field is endless? (179) 

The Buddha has no ensnaring, embroiling craving 

To lead him; 

By what path would you guide him, 

Who has no path, 

Whose field is endless?

Even the gods envy 

The awakened ones, 

The mindful ones, 

The wise ones 

Who are intent on meditation 

And delight in the peace of renunciation.

--Buddha, The Dhammapada

References:

Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 47-48.

Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment., Volume 2. Pages 104-105, 147, 184-185. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.